Responsibility
by jellybean96
Summary: He feels responsible. It was his job to protect her. And he failed. He didn't even know that it had happened. He only knew she was gone after he got back. He walked back in and then he heard the gunfire. Then he heard a scream.


**Hi everyone! Here's a new one-shot for you all. I don't really remember where this idea came from, but it's here. So enjoy. Hope you all like it! **

**Also, who saw the new episode last night?! Wasn't it fantastic? I loved it! So many crazy things happened, so many emotions came out. (My rant will be at the bottom of this story). **

**But, I do want to point out, that Chloe Bennet tweeted me! Right as the show was starting! Agh! I was so happy! She tweeted, "West Coast! Are you ready? #AgentesofSHEILD". Then I tweeted her a picture and said, " ChloeBennet4 I'm so excited! Got my new shades and fun dip! I'm ready to go! #AgentsofSHEILD". Then she tweeted back and said, " Gillybean729 awesome shades….and I love fun dip". I was so flipping excited! Best way to start the episode! **

**Okay, story time now. :)**

* * *

He feels responsible.

It was his job to protect her. And he failed.

He told her that she'd be fine. He told her that he'd only be gone for a bit. He told her it wasn't too dangerous.

She told him that she needed him to stay. She said he couldn't be sure how long he'd be gone. She said she was still scared.

But he went anyways. He walked away when she wasn't looking. He regretted it.

He was gone longer than he thought.

He didn't even know that it had happened.

He only knew she was gone after he got back.

(He had captured the other guy)

He walked back in and then he heard the gunfire.

Then he heard a scream.

He knew that scream. He knew it was her scream. He'd heard it before, when she'd wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares.

He couldn't move as he heard her screaming out in what must have been excruciating pain.

He needed to find her.

But he didn't know where she was. And he didn't know how to find her. He knew that she wouldn't be able to answer him and tell him where she was. She sounded like she was in too pain.

So he asked FitzSimmons to track her comm, and tell him where she was.

They asked what was happening. He told them to hurry.

So they did. They located her and directed him where to go.

He found her in a very secluded part of the warehouse. He found her lying on the cold hard floor of the warehouse.

She had been shot. Shot in the abdomen.

And they just left her there, left her to die.

He knelt down by her side, immediately calling for some type of emergency crew to help them.

He gave her a once over with his eyes.

They had done more damage than just a gunshot wound. He could see some bruises starting to form on her face.

He told her that everything was going to be okay. He had to tell himself the same thing.

She just looked at him with tears in her eyes. She was struggling to stay awake. She was trying to speak. He told her not to. That it would only hurt more.

He told her to hang on, that everything was gonna be fine.

She gave a weak smile and then her eyes closed.

He shouted for her to open her eyes again, to hang on just a bit longer.

Then the medics arrived. S.H.I.E.L.D. medics.

They carried her away and told him he couldn't go with.

He told them he was her partner, in more ways than one. He forced his way into the van.

He held her hand in his as they drove away.

Now he is here. In the closest S.H.I.E.L.D. facility to where they were at on their mission. He is in the waiting room, hoping for any news on her to arrive. He's sitting in one of the chairs, his head in his hands.

"Where is she?" Ward looks up to see the rest of the team rushing up to him, worry clearly written on their faces.

"Ward?" Simmons asks, "Ward, where is she? Is she okay?"

"Surgery," is all he manages to get out.

"How long has she been in there?" Fitz asks.

"Don't know. Lost track."

The four remaining members take a seat in each of the chairs around Ward, not saying anything else. No one knows what else to say. Coulson and May sit next to each other in two of the chairs to one side of Ward, one of Coulson's hands on Ward's shoulders in comfort. FitzSimmons is sitting on the other side of Ward, Fitz has one arm wrapped around Simmons' waist, and she is leaning her head on his shoulder. Both of them have a hint of tears in their eyes. Ward goes back to putting his head in his hands, taking deep breathes to try and calm his nerves down a bit. He keeps telling himself that she is going to be okay. He just hopes that she is.

* * *

"Grant Ward?"

Ward's head shoots up at hearing his name, hoping to see the young hacker standing in front of him. But it's a doctor.

"Yes?" Ward says, standing up from his chair, "How is she?"

"She's in recovery." Ward visibly relaxes, as does the rest of the team. "She had a punctured lung from the bullet, a few broken ribs and a broken leg, a black eye, and many cuts and bruises. We were able to repair the damage that was done, but she will have to take it very easy for a few weeks while she recovers."

"When is she going to be released?"

"We'll need to keep her for a few more hours just to keep an eye on her vitals. Hopefully if everything is okay, she will be able to be released sometime tonight, or early tomorrow morning."

"Can we see her?"

"She's asleep at the moment, but you're more than welcome to go in. But it's going to have to be one at a time for now."

"Ward," he turns to see Fitz smiling at him, "You go."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Coulson asks, "you need to see her more than we do."

Wards smiles, "Thank you." He turns and faces the doctor again, silently asking him to show him to the correct room.

* * *

When he reaches the room, he stops just outside the door, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. He takes a step inside the room and has to lean on the doorframe to keep himself from collapsing to his knees. She is lying in the bed, asleep. A cast is on her leg, elevated slightly. She's only wearing half of a shirt, and some shorts, so he can see the bandages that are wrapped around her torso. He can also see the bruises on her face, on her arms and legs, even on her torso. It pains him to see her like that. He walks into the room, going to her bedside. He pulls the chair up close and sits down, grabbing her hand in his. He runs his thumb across the back of her hand, trying to figure out what to say.

"I'm sorry Skye," he finally says. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm your SO; it's my job to protect you. And I failed." He looks up at her sleeping face, "But you're gonna be okay, just like I told you before. I just, gosh Skye, please come back. I know it's very unlike me to be like this, but we need you Skye. We need you back."

He feels slight pressure on his hand, and looks down to see Skye's fingers twitching, gently squeezing his hand. He looks back up at her and notices her face twitch slightly. Then she takes a sharp intake of breathe, her eyes opening, and her hand squeezes his out of reflex. She tries to sit up, tries to look around, but he stops her. Standing from his seat, he puts his other hand on her shoulder, making her lie back down.

"Wh—"

"Don't," he cuts her off, "don't try and talk right now. Just relax. You need to rest, recover." She nods her head slowly in understanding. "The others are here, out in the waiting room. We were all pretty worried about you."

"Thank you," she manages to get out hoarsely.

"For what?"

"Finding me," she swallows, allowing herself to talk better, "and you're more than just my S.O., you know that." She gives him a small smile.

"I know that. But no one else does."

"Yeah we do." Ward and Skye turn their heads to see the rest of the team standing in the doorway. Coulson is standing in front and center, a small hint of a smile on his face.

"We've known for a while now," Simmons says happily.

"But we wanted to let you guys live in your own little world for a bit more," Fitz explains.

"So you guys knew this entire time?" Skye asks, "How?"

"We noticed the little things," Coulson says.

"Yeah," Simmons speaks up, "the way you glance at each other when you think that no one is watching, the way that Ward's hands linger for a second too long during your training sessions, how you sit or stand just a bit closer to one another, and in the mornings when you guys wake up looking a bit happier, and your hair is slightly mussed up," she throws them a huge smile, "It's rather romantic!"

"Oh," Fitz chimes in, "and when Coulson said that _we_ noticed the little things, he really meant that _Jemma _noticed them."

"Oh shut up," she says, hitting Fitz in the arm.

"Okay," Coulson says, "I think that we need to go and do some damage control and debrief. Ward, you can stay here with Skye. Skye, you rest up, and we're all glad that you pulled through."

"Thanks," Skye says back, "I'm glad too." She reaches for Ward's hand, squeezing it tightly. He smiles down at her, squeezing back.

Everyone files out of the room, ready to go about doing what needs to be done for the after mission stuff.

Ward turns around fully and faces Skye, "I'm really glad you're okay. You had us all really worried. I wasn't sure if you were going to make it or not. And it really scared me. When I saw what they did to you…"

"Hey," Skye cuts him off, putting her other hand on top of his, "I'm fine. We got them, they can't hurt me anymore."

"Yeah, I know. It's just, if I hadn't have left your side, you wouldn't be in here."

"You have no way of knowing that. And neither do I. For all we know, the same thing could have happened. Though knowing you, you probably would have used your crazy, ninja robot skills to kick them where it hurts." She smiles at him and laughs lightly.

He chuckles and smiles back, "Yeah. I'm just glad that I don't have to heavily protect you anymore. No more sneaking into your bunk in the middle of the night because you've had a nightmare, and no more sneaking out of your bunk before everyone gets up so no one sees."

"Well, everyone knows about us, and they told us that openly…"

"What are you trying to say, Skye?" he asks her. He can see a hint of a smile on her face.

"Well, I just went through a very traumatic experience, so I may have a bit of PTSD. It'd only make sense, if someone was there to keep me company at night, and help me through that." She looks at him with a look that, if they weren't in a hospital, and she wasn't injured, he'd have her right then and there. "You catch what I'm saying?" she asks him.

"I believe I do," he smiles back, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to her lips. She kisses back, putting her good hand on the back of his neck to bring him closer to her.

A throat clears and the two jump apart, looking to see a nurse standing in the doorway. She has a small, awkward smile on her face, "I'm sorry," she says sheepishly, "was I interrupting something?"

"Nope," Skye says quickly, "not interrupting anything."

"Okay. Well, visiting hours are over now, but you can come back tomorrow if you would like."

"Thanks," Ward says, "Can I just have a few more minutes?"

"Of course," the nurse smiles warmly, and then exits the room, giving Skye and Ward a few more minutes together.

Ward turns back to face Skye, sitting in the chair and grabbing her hand once again. They are both quiet for a moment. Neither one wanting to ruin their moment together. Then Skye speaks up, "I don't want you to go," she tells him.

He looks up at her and gives her a sad smile, "I don't want to go either."

"Then stay," she pleads. "I'm sure that S.H.I.E.L.D. has some way of overriding the hospital protocols to let you stay here with me."

"Skye," he sighs, "I can't do that. I'm gonna go back to HQ, give my statement about what happened, and hopefully, get a good night's sleep. But I promise," he continues, seeing the look on her face, "I promise that I will come back and see you first thing tomorrow morning."

"Promise?"

"Promise," he smiles, "now, you get some rest. You need to heal," he stands from his chair, looking down at her, "because as soon as you're well enough, it's back to training. Need to make sure you can defend yourself in case this ever happens again."

"Of course your mind would go straight back to training," she rolls her eyes at him.

"What?" he asks, "did you have something else in mind?"

"Actually," she says, trying to sit up in the bed, but then cringes, lying back down, "You know what, on second thought, training sounds good."

Ward chuckles, "That's what I thought," he leans down and brushes some hair out of her face, "now get some sleep. I'll be back tomorrow." He places a gentle kiss to her forehead and then smiles at her. "I love you Skye," he tells her, looking straight into her eyes.

"I love you too," she smiles right back. It's the first time that either of them has said it to the other, but neither of them regrets saying it.

"See you tomorrow," Ward says, turning around and making his way towards the door.

"Yeah," Skye replies, lying back in her bed, her eyes slowly drooping closed, "see you tomorrow." In less than a minute, she is fast asleep, her breathing even, a hint of a small smile on her face.

* * *

**So? What did you all think? Did you like it? Let me know your thoughts in a review down below. I'd love to know what you think. **

**Rant time! I wanted to punch May in the face when she pretty much kicked Skye off the BUS, but then I felt a bit better afterwards, when I realized why she did that. And I was scared and sad, when they were basically torturing Coulson just to get some information out of him. **

**And can we take a moment to talk about how amazing Skye was in that episode. She kicked some serious BOOT-AY in that episode. Like seriously! She was fantastic. And hot! That outfit on her, when she was at that guys house! Fan-freaking-tastic! "Agent Melinda May with SHIELD." That was perfection. And she was so genius about how to get the stuff down, even though she had that bracelet on! Speaking of which, Coulson removed it! YAY! I was so happy for her! And the look on her face when she saw that it was just a voice activated thing, that was funny. All in all, a fantastic episode. **

**And who saw the promo for next week? AGH! I can't wait! Don't know if I'll be able to handle Skye bawling her eyes out though. We'll see. **

**Okay, rant over. Don't forget to drop a review! **

**Until next time,  
****Jellybean96 out!**


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